Funds from W-S Foundation

Lisa York (left) and Alexandra Farley with their letters of confirmation from the Zach Smith Fund Awards.

Submitted photo

WINSTON-SALEM — Mount Airy City Schools has received 10 grants totaling $17,095 thanks to the Zach Smith Fund of the Winston-Salem Foundation.

The fund’s advisory committee recently recommended the grants for projects that will improve the quality of education in Mount Airy City Schools.

The grant will be used to buy technology for the classroom such as iPad Minis, Kindle Fire tablets and Chromebooks.

Ten teachers were chosen to received this grant by a selection committee. The emphasis of the selection of winners was based on the way in which initiative, creativity and imagination were demonstrated in projects. Also considered was the project’s potential effect on students and the strategic relationship between the proposed project and individual professional growth.

Dr. Kim Morrison, chief academic and innovation officer for Mount Airy City Schools, explained that this funding allowed teacher’s ideas to thrive and enables students to have more engaging experiences.

“The additional technology, training and futuristic learning devices help students realize their full potential,” she said.

Six of the 10 teachers selected were from Mount Airy High School, two from Tharrington Primary School and two from Mount Airy Middle School.

One teacher who received the grant from Mount Airy High School, Dustin Draughn plans to use his part of the grant to buy new lab kits from the AP Earth Science Program. “I am trying to make this class an exciting one where we can explore hands on,” he added.

Another Mount Airy High school teacher, Shelia Chase, plans to purchase a class set of Oculus Rifts, a virtual-reality headset that immerses the user inside virtual worlds.

“Students will be able to interact with the online environment and feel as if they are in the scene.”

The Zach Smith Fund was created within the Winston-Salem Foundation in 2009 with gifts made in memory of Zach Smith from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, and his family and friends.

Lisa York (left) and Alexandra Farley with their letters of confirmation from the Zach Smith Fund Awards.

http://www.mtairynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_ZachSmith.jpgLisa York (left) and Alexandra Farley with their letters of confirmation from the Zach Smith Fund Awards. Submitted photo